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6 DAILY HABITS I'VE INCORPORATED INTO MY ROUTINE.

Friday, 21 June 2019

Hello! Lately my motivation has been all over the place. I was doing so well with sticking to a healthy routine and then yesterday I ate everything in the snack cupboard, and then some. After taking a stern look in the mirror this morning, I told myself I was going to get back on track and actually stick to the these habits that were working well for me in the past. So here are 6 healthy habits to add to your daily routine!

1. Start with a 2 minute stretch in bed.

I don't mean like they do in all the cartoons when someone wakes up, yawns loudly and stretches their arms over their head (but that might work for you). I tried to dedicate 10 minutes in the morning to do yoga but honestly, I wasn't sticking to it. Instead I just sit up, touch my toes for 10 seconds, twist my body one way and the other, and rotate my neck in both ways. If you pick a few stretches you think are the most beneficial for you, you'll be more likely to stick to them.

2. Take the vitamins (you need).

Even though there are some vitamins that are good to take generally such as a multivitamin and probiotic, there may be others that you may need depending on your lifestyle, diet and hormones. The best thing to do is take a quiz to see what vitamins you actually need to be taking. The lovely people over at MyVitaminPacks kindly sent me a months supply of the vitamins that were recommended for me. Including iron, digest-zyme, primrose oil and fish oil.

They come in a handy dispenser and packaged daily so you can just rip a packet and take it with you to work or wherever you need to go. I've definitely noticed my energy levels have been more consistent and my skin has been more glowy. I also like that two of my vitamins are pink hehe.

3. Have your first drink with apple cider vinegar.

I've been doing this on and off for two years, and you can find a list with heaps of benefits here. At first I used to mix one teaspoon with water, lemon and honey but I've got so used to the taste that I simply add two tablespoons to a glass of water. I'm currently using one that also has manuka honey added so it tastes even better. (Remember to grab one that has 'the mother' included!) If you still find you can't drink it, then it's a good dressing for salads too.

4. Intermittent fasting.

I did a blog post last year on my experience with intermittent fasting where you basically fast for a period of the day and eat for another (typically eat between 12pm - 8pm). What I like about it is it stops me from mindlessly eating late at night and I actually look forward to being hungry come 12pm, instead of just eating breakfast when I wake up because I 'should'. Since you're eating in a smaller timeframe you're also less likely to overeat, so it does help with weight loss or maintaining your weight. It also works by regulating your insulin levels, and causes your body to burn fat since there is no food available in your stomach. I thought I would pass out if I tried fasted cardio, but turns out I did a lot better. Just make sure you're drinking plenty of water!

5. Watch a motivating video or podcast.

I've been trying to make it to the gym before midday, and when it comes to my 'cool down' at the end of my workout I simply choose a Ted Talk or other motivational video on Youtube and watch that. If I feel like I need some motivation to write a blog post, then I'll watch something centred around that. Other times I just power walk and watch all of Bieber's old music videos.

6. Learning something new everyday.

As an adult this can be pretty difficult since most of us are working in jobs we're used to doing. Luckily I wrote a blog post all about learning something new everyday to give you some ways to do this. What I've got into the habit of doing is picking an article on the Curiosity app (or website) and reading that before bed. There's stuff on psychology, science, health, personal growth and some weird and wonderful things. Today I came across an article on the homepage titled 'why coffee makes you poop', so yeah, go learn something new and impress your friends at your next coffee date.

So these are some healthy habits I've been doing to make me feel like I've got my sh*t together. What are some of yours?